Nexus 6 without fingerprint reader is Apple’s fault

Former Motorola chief Dennis Woodside admitted that the lack of a fingerprint reader on Nexus 6 was Apple’s fault. The Cupertino company acquired Authentec a few years ago as one of the largest providers of this type of technology, which made other companies unable to use it in its products.

Rumors have surfaced for some time that the Nexus 6 was supposed to be equipped with a fingerprint reader, but the final version of the device was deprived of this feature and its absence was not explained. Dennis Woodside, the former director of Motorola, gave the British Telegraph an extensive interview about his work and his past projects. Woodside acknowledged that in 2011 Motorola was the pioneer of this type of technology and used the sensor on the Atrix 4G, so long before Apple introduced the iPhone 5s with a reader.

The problem, however, was that Motorola used the technology developed by Authentec, which Apple bought in 2012 for $ 365 million. It was then the largest supplier of biometric system components, so the acquisition of Cupertino by the company prevented other manufacturers from using this technology.

In retrospect, however, Woodside believes that it was good then, because the sensors were not yet perfected, and as the HTC One max shows, it worked very slowly and not quite as it should. Apple, however, has managed to refine the technology and its TouchID is already functioning properly.